Thursday, April 24, 2014

Oh Bother

4. Also you are so happy with your decision..then why are you giving justifications to the world...no one is bothered!


These are the comments that make me laugh. People who ask this, who presume I'm writing justifications, who think that writing about my experiences means I'm overcompensating are missing one key point:

I'm not writing this for you.


I'm writing this for myself, and for the many women who write to me thanking me for being a voice of experience when they're just starting their own journey. My audience isn't the women who don't get it. If they stumble across my blog and leave with a greater understanding of childfree women and the childfree choice, bonus. But I don't expect that to happen. 

The irony of these statements isn't lost on me, either. When someone says things like this, they sound quite bothered, actually. These people took the time to find my childfree blog, read my posts and found them so compelling for one reason or another to write a nastygram in response.

That, my dear, is the definition of bothered. 

But again, these women are not my audience, and what I write is not a bunch of justifications. They're thoughts, stories, experiences. And as long as people reach out and tell me that I've made a difference for them (and they do!) I'm going to keep sharing.